Kerala FC unveiled on Friday

The clubs owners say they have studied the causes for the demise for clubs like Viva Kerala and have built there model to avoid the same fate

In a significant development for the football mad state of Kerala, a Thrissur based football club named Kerala FC was officially unveiled and launched at the public ceremony on Friday.

What is more amazing is that the club will have it all football academy as well as its own ground in a specially dedicated 40-acre campus.

To prevent it from befalling the same fate as FC Kochi and Viva Kerala, the club has been registered as a Public Limited Company with a total sum of ₹40 Crores derived from shareholders. As the club launched to celebrations in the state, the promoters explained that the decision to undertake the project has taken about eight years of researching the available data.

"The fund crunch after the inception stage was main reason behind the shutdown of previous professional football clubs in the state. We have decided to start the club with the basics. FC Kerala will jump into the bigger stage of the game only after completing the preparation for permanent revenue for the club.

“The club's owners are aiming to deposit a total of ₹18 Crores from the ₹40 Crores they are planning to amass from the shareholders in the banks. It will generate an interest of ₹1.5 Crores per year. We can manage the club with that money in the initial stage," explained Narayana Menon, a squire, to the New Indian Express.

As the blueprint suggests, the club aims to get itself to national standards within a span of three years, while utilising the 40-acre-land to ensure that the revenue it generates can sustain its development in the future.

"We need investment in the future to run the club it has decided to construct houses in a six acre plot within the 40 acre land campus that we are buying. The revenue from these houses will be used for running the club. There will be other facilities for sports tourism, ecotourism festival tourism etc in the plot to generate additional revenue.

“The club will also get sponsors in the future. We hope all the revenue will get us in a safe financial position to run the club," added Menon.

Trials for selecting participants for the club will start later this month at different locations in the state. The promoters want to ensure the club participation at the state level tournaments in the first year itself.

The attendees at the inauguration of the club were then treated to an exhibition match between Kerala Police XI and the Malapurram veterans XI at the Kottappady Stadium, a newly opened ground, where former India captain Jo Paul Anchery proved to be star of the gala. The logo and the jersey of the team will be released at a later date.